All That She Holds

Chapter Five

Matt and Vanessa felt bad after seeing me when I was done with Nova. They made me breakfast even though it twelve in the afternoon. I gratefully devoured it and sat at the bar drinking a bottle of water.

"It should be easier with Stella," Vanessa said.

"How do you guys know her?"

Matt laughed and I watched as Vanessa face flushed red. "She seduced Vanessa."

I laughed almost choking on my water, "Somebody seduced you?"

Vanessa blushed even deeper. She was adorable with the embarrassed look on her face. "How could you blame me? When you see her you'll understand."

Just then the doorbell rang. I smiled at Vanessa as I went to open the door. The woman on the other side was stunning. Her piercing blue-gray eyes bore into mine as she wore a a pearly white smile. Her brown and blonde hair fell around her in waves, framing her face. She has small nose with small red lips.

I realized I was just staring. I stepped aside letting her in and closed the door. "It's nice to meet you, I'm -"

I didn't get to finish before Stella cut me off. "Belle."

I blushed knowing enough of French to know she called me beautiful. She grabbed my hand and placed a lingering kiss.

"Stella, stop flirting. That's not why you're here."

Nova's voice at the bottom of the steps drew Stella's attention. "Nova, are you jealous?"

Stella's accent was sexy as hell. I've always been a sucker for someone with a nice accent. Nova rolled her eyes and disappeared back up the steps. Matt and Vanessa came to greet Stella. Vanessa still wore a blush when Stella kissed both of her cheeks in greeting. It was kind of funny seeing someone as good lucking as Vanessa to become flustered.

"Well, let's not waste time chérie."

I showed Stella to the blackout room and she closed the door behind her. It was just me and her. She quite honestly made me nervous. She had this mischievous spark in her eyes like she was always up to the something.

The blackout room was pretty plain. There was a black couch and a coffee table in the center. Stella and I sat down on the couch. For a few seconds she just stared at me. Her eyes roamed every inch of my body. I was fidgeting under her gaze. "Tell me about yourself."

I rose an eyebrow at the request. "Why?"

She shrugged, "We're going to be spending a lot of time together. We should get to know each other."

It was a reasonable excuse. "Well, I'm twenty-two. My birthday is July 23rd. I never knew either of my parents. My grandparents raised me but they both died shortly after I graduated high school. My favorite color is orange and I love french fries. I think that's pretty much it. My life isn't very exciting."

"Au contraire, your life is about to be a roller coaster ride."

I had no doubt about that.

"Think of magic as a life form. With it you can make things grow or kill things. Create and destroy. It's all one big endless circle of life and death."

Stella opened her hand and in the palm stood a small white daisy. She rubbed her fingers along its petal and it began to wither. "Most magic is controlled with emotions. Only the strongest mage can pull her emotions away from the magic. Therefore, she could do anything."

"Try and bring the flower back to life. Think of it flowing in the breeze and growing under the sun."

I closed my eyes. I thought of the daisy alive and healthy. Stella moved my hand to touch the flower. "Oh my."